NAZIHA BOUSSIDI/ZOUHOUR MECHERGUI

Tunisia- The 3rd World Women’s Conference of grassroots women has entered its fourth day. At the workshops held yesterday as part of the conference, the situation of young women and girls were discussed and solutions for problems faced by women.

The participants emphasized the importance of joint and local solutions at the workshops. The importance of joint struggle and active use of the internet to find practical solutions to women’s problems were emphasized. The workshops focused on how to empower and support women’s political participation, how to protect women from the patriarchal mentality and strengthen women’s struggle. The participants also discussed how they could be the voices of oppressed women, who are subjected to attacks and harassment by hegemon male-dominant mentality.

Education is important for young women

Young Tunisian activist Amani Bin Obaid is one of the young women who attended the workshops. “We should especially focus on the lack of education and how education is important for young women. Experiences in different countries should be shared to strengthen each other. Women should focus on their pain and educational experiences. We should discuss the problems faced by young women such as all forms of violence, discrimination and harassment.”

Call for unity

Maryam Abu Daqqa, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also attended the workshops. Speaking about the workshops, she told NuJINHA, “Our mission is to make the voices of Palestinian women to be heard the whole world. Palestinian women make up half of the Palestinian population; they give birth and raise the other half of our society. We will keep struggling. The world, of course, does not want women to unite, make joint decisions, and fight against imperialism by taking a joint stance. We must unite and support each other.”